This blog is written by the National Director of Together For Humanity Foundation (TFH), Rabbi Zalman Kastel. It explores contemporary social issues as these relate to an Orthodox understanding of the Torah, (the Bible) and other Jewish sources. This blog which shares the personal thoughts and journey of an Australian Jewish man is part of the bridge building work of TFH and is written for readers of many faiths and none. It often references the Sidra, the weekly Torah reading.

Friday, June 14, 2013

Yesterday at a Marrickville “Faith Walks” event with a group
of people from various faiths and backgrounds, I was asked how I know that God
calls me to work with Christians and Muslims for coexistence and interfaith
acceptance. I don’t really “know” that I am right. This week I received emails
with arguments disputing the value of my approach highlighting this argument or
that fact. The apparent ‘sacred hatred’ of the other mocks the optimism of the somewhat grandiose
name we have chosen for ourselves “Together For Humanity”, in one case simply
by turning our name into a question “are we Together For Humanity?” I don’t
think all the contrary arguments are silly or baseless’. There is always a
counter argument and another argument after that. The bottom line for me is
that in my best judgement this is clearly the right way to deal with an
ambiguous reality, to focus on what is best in the other and on a vision of how
things ought to be. As a leader it is my responsibility to set aside the doubts
and believe wholeheartedly and help others believe as well. Napoleon said
“leaders are dealers in hope”. Perhaps this is the key to the mystery of why
Moses ultimately fails as a leader and is prevented from taking his people into
the Promised Land.

This past Sunday Mohamed Taha( journalist, law student and Together For
Humanity workshop presenter), Iman Taleb ( young Muslim woman working in oral
health) Sheikh Omar Habouche (IT Project
manager and Islamic Scholar) and I presented a seminar titled Holy Hate- Jews and Muslims at
the Limmud Oz Jewish festival of ideas. The seminar was attended by 140 members
of the Jewish community. The attendance itself is a strong statement for
coexistence and seeking understanding.

The Sheikh gave the context for many
Islamic texts that could be understood to justify hatred of Jews. He explained
the importance of oral tradition within Islam that ensures that texts are
understood with the benefit of guidance by a teacher rather than people just
picking up a text and doing whatever they want with it. He cited the example of
the killer of the soldier in Woolwich as an example of someone who could cite
text but failed to understand what the text really means. I hope I can reproduce
his talk in full on my blog soon.

My own remarks focused on the various relevant teachings in my
own tradition. The words “Holy Hate” might be considered an absurdity to
Christians who believe that God is love, but this is not a Jewish concept. On
the contrary, according to the Torah (Deuteronomy/Devarim 16:21-22) God
actually hates. “Nor shall you erect for yourself a "matzeva"
(pillar), which the Lord your God hates”. King David expresses his devotion to God by
stating of those who hate God, heretics[i]תכלית שנאה
שנאתיםלאויבים היו ליwith the ultimate hatred I have hated them, they
are enemies for me. Certainly David thought of his hatred as sacred. So we have a precedent
for holy hate. Does it continue to exist?

Let us put the reasons aside. It is a matter of fact that
many people of the Jewish and Muslim communities have negative views about the
other.I had a hard object thrown at me
from a passing car together with insults in Arabic in Auburn, a suburb which
boastsa large Muslim population; a Jewish member of the audience at Limmud who
is engaged to a Muslim talked about the negative talk she hears about Muslims
around some Shabbat tables.There is
also a lot of good will on the part of Jews and Muslims toward each other. I am
proud to say that the CEO of the NSW Jewish board of deputies, Vic Alhadeff has
stood up against anti-Muslim prejudice and that people like Mohamed Taha and
many of the Muslims I work with in Together for Humanity stand up against
anti-Jewish hatred.

In terms of the portrayal of Islam in Jewish texts there
would be limited references because our main texts were already written before
the historical founding of Islam. I believe there are some negative Maimonides[ii]
stated that both Islam and Christianity played a positive role in history.
"All those words of Jesus of Nazareth and of this Ishmaelite [i.e.,
Muhammad] who arose after him are only to make straight the path for the
messianic king and to prepare the whole world to serve the Lord together. As it
is said: 'For then I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech so
that all of them shall call on the name of the Lord and serve him with one
accord[iii]'

It is not true that Jews believe in literally taking out “an
eye for an eye[iv]”,
it is clear in Jewish traditions that it refers to monetary compensation[v].
Revenge and even holding a grudge is forbidden in the text of the Torah[vi]
In the prayers before going to sleep, we proclaim forgiveness for anyone who
sinned against me… in this life or another life…no one should be punished on my
account[vii].
Yet the Torah tells us about clear instructions from God to the Israelites to
take revenge against Midyan[viii]
and never to forget the evil deeds of Amalek who attacked you us when we were
vulnerable[ix].
In Chasidic teachings, Amalek represents the instinct to pour cold water over
religious enthusiasm while Midyan represents baseless hatred. I don’t interpret
either of these teachings as encouraging people to be hateful today.

Ultimately Judaism is as Judaism does. When some Rabbis ruled that Jews should not
rent their homes to Arabs in Sefad Israel, they were indulging in holy hate.
When Jews such as Vic Alhadeff defend Muslims he is living Jewish principles of
social justice. When young people in both communities meet and interact with
each other, they live the teaching that God created humanity out of one person,
Adam so that no one would say my ancestor is greater than yours.

The challenge for us is to choose to put our faith in each
other. When confronted with texts that concern us, we should try to understand
these texts not in terms of their absolute meaning but in terms of the meanings
given to these texts by people with whom we can have dialogue.

Moses has an opportunity to help the people maintain faith in
God despite the fact that they are in a desert and have been told in the
previous portion that they will die in the desert and never get to the Promised
Land.The people, arguably, had good
reasons to question God when they have no water. Moses is told to go and talk
softly to the rock and water will come from it for the people because God wills
it. Instead he yells at the people that they are rebels, he hits the rock and,
while water emerges, a valuable opportunity about choosing faith despite
challenging obstacles has been lost. The people don’t see that just talking to
a rock with the word of God can bring forth water[x],
the paradigm of forcing things and fighting for them has been reinforced.Another leader will be needed to take the
people to the Promised Land[xi].
I hope I can continue to believe and inspire others to believe that while there
might be a time to fight, there is much that can be accomplished with our
beautiful fellow human beings of Muslim and other faiths by talking and
listening rather than by wielding sticks.

About Me

I am active in educational efforts to counter prejudice, particularly when linked to religion, as National Director of Together For Humanity Foundation. I am also a Rabbi, teaching Bar Mitzvah students, adults, conducting weddings and involved in other aspects religious leadership. I was ordained with Semicha from the Lubavitch Yeshiva (770) in New York, studied Torah in London, Brooklyn and Sydney. Completed a graduate Diploma in Education at the University of New England.